Interference mitigation through carrier aggregation

ABSTRACT

A system for interference mitigation through carrier aggregation may include one or more processors and a memory. The memory may include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: provide data transmissions and control transmissions to a wireless device over a primary component carrier, determine that interference exists on the primary component carrier, and switch at least a portion of the data or control transmissions to a secondary component carrier in response to determining that the interference exists on the primary component carrier, while maintaining connectivity on the primary component carrier.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/892,200, entitled “Interference Mitigation Through CarrierAggregation,” filed on May 10, 2013, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.9,288,027, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/811,660, entitled “Interference Mitigation ThroughCarrier Aggregation,” filed on Apr. 12, 2013, both of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present description relates generally to interference mitigation,and more particularly, but not exclusively, to interference mitigationthrough carrier aggregation.

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of wireless devices that use disparate wirelesstechnologies has led to the airwaves being crowded with wirelesssignals, e.g., cellular signals, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi signals, and/or otherwireless signals. In some instances, a wireless device maysimultaneously utilize multiple wireless technologies that may interferewith each other on a temporary, but reoccurring, basis, e.g. due totransmissions on neighboring frequencies. For example, a wireless devicemay transmit Long Term Evolution (LTE) signals and Bluetooth signals onneighboring frequencies. Accordingly, a wireless device may benefit fromone or more mechanisms for tolerating or mitigating interfering signals,e.g. from collocated radios. For example, a wireless device may utilizefiltering technology to suppress interfering signals; however, filteringtechnology may be costly in some instances. A wireless device may alsoutilize a handover procedure to switch from a frequency experiencinginterference to a frequency that is not experiencing interference;however, there may be latencies associated with handover procedures thatmay be undesirable when mitigating temporary, but reoccurring,interference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain features of the subject technology are set forth in the appendedclaims. However, for purpose of explanation, several embodiments of thesubject technology are set forth in the following figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network environment in which asystem for interference mitigation through carrier aggregation may beimplemented in accordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process of a user devicein a system for interference mitigation through carrier aggregation inaccordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process of a basestation in a system for interference mitigation through carrieraggregation in accordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example flow diagram of an example process for asystem for interference mitigation through carrier aggregation inaccordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example frequency allocation for a user device ina system for interference mitigation through carrier aggregation inaccordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 6 conceptually illustrates an electronic system with which one ormore implementations of the subject technology may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description ofvarious configurations of the subject technology and is not intended torepresent the only configurations in which the subject technology may bepracticed. The appended drawings are incorporated herein and constitutea part of the detailed description. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof the subject technology. However, the subject technology is notlimited to the specific details set forth herein and may be practicedusing one or more implementations. In one or more instances, structuresand components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoidobscuring the concepts of the subject technology.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment 100 in which a systemfor interference mitigation through carrier aggregation may beimplemented in accordance with one or more implementations. Not all ofthe depicted components may be required, however, and one or moreimplementations may include additional components not shown in thefigure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may bemade without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as setforth herein. Additional components, different components, or fewercomponents may be provided.

The example network environment 100 includes a user device 110, a basestation 120, and electronic devices 130, 140. The user device 110 mayinclude, may be a component of, and/or may be referred to in one or moreimplementations as, as User Equipment (UE). The user device 110 mayinclude suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, memory, and/or code thatenables communications, e.g. with the base station 120, and/or theelectronic devices 130, 140, via wireless interfaces and utilizing oneor more radio transceivers. In one or more implementations, the userdevice 110 may be, or may include, a mobile phone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a tablet device, a computer, or generally any devicethat is operable to communicate wirelessly with the base station 120and/or one or more of the electronic devices 130, 140. In one or moreimplementations, the user device 110 may be, or may include one or morecomponents of, the system discussed below with respect to FIG. 6.

The base station 120 may include, may be a component of, and/or may bereferred to in one or more implementations as, a Node B (NB) or anEvolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB). The base station 120 may include suitablelogic, circuitry, interfaces, memory, and/or code that enablescommunications, e.g. with the user device 110, via wireless interfacesand utilizing one or more radio transceivers. The base station 120 maybe a base station of a cellular-based wireless network, such as an LTEcommunications network, or generally any cellular-based communicationsnetwork. In one or more implementations, the base station 120 may be, ormay include one or more components of, the system discussed below withrespect to FIG. 6.

The user device 110 and the base station 120 may communicate usingcarrier aggregation, which allows the user device 110 and the basestation 120 to simultaneously transmit data and/or control informationover multiple aggregated carriers. The aggregated carriers may beindividually referred to as component carriers. For example, a primarycomponent carrier may be utilized by the user device 110 and the basestation 120 for data and control transmissions while one or moresecondary component carriers can be dynamically configured and activatedby the base station 120 on-demand, e.g. to increase bandwidth. In one ormore implementations, the secondary component carriers may beimplemented through the base station 120, e.g. without requiring anybackhaul network communications, or the secondary component carriers maybe implemented across multiple base stations, e.g. using backhaulnetwork communications.

In one or more implementations, the carrier aggregation can be used inTime Division Duplex (TDD) systems or Frequency Division Duplex (FDD)systems. The component carriers may be contiguous carriers, e.g. withinthe same frequency band or within neighboring frequency bands, or thecomponent carriers may be non-contiguous, e.g. within the same frequencyband with one or more gaps in-between, or across multiple non-contiguousfrequency bands. The component carriers may have the same bandwidth, ormay have differing bandwidths. In FDD systems the number of componentcarriers may differ between the uplink and the downlink; however, in TDDsystems the number of component carriers for the uplink and the downlinkmay be the same. The base station 120 may allocate resources to the userdevice 110 over any of the individual component carriers.

In one or more implementations, the component carriers may be associatedwith different serving cells; however, the radio resource control (RRC)connection may be handled by the primary serving cell that is served bythe primary component carrier, e.g. in the downlink and uplink. The userdevice 110 may also receive non-access stratum (NAS) information, suchas security parameters, and/or other system information, on the primarycomponent carrier, e.g. in the downlink. Information pertaining to thephysical uplink control channel (e.g. LTE PUCCH) may also be sent overthe primary component carrier, e.g. in the uplink. Thus, the primarycomponent carrier may generally be utilized for data and controltransmissions, while the secondary component carriers may generally beutilized to provide additional bandwidth for data transmissions.

In one or more implementations, the base station 120 may communicateconfiguration information regarding one or more secondary componentcarriers, e.g. being utilized by the base station 120, to the userdevice 110. Upon receiving the configuration information, the userdevice 110 can configure the secondary component carriers. The userdevice 110 may then be able to activate configured component carriers.The resources of the configured secondary component carriers can bescheduled for carrier aggregation as needed. The secondary componentcarrier configuration information transmitted by the base station 120can include radio layer information for the uplink and downlink for eachsecondary component carrier. For example, the configuration informationcan include details regarding the uplink and downlink componentcarriers' center frequency, bandwidth, duplex mode, and base station 120specific carrier index. The duplex mode may be time division duplex(TDD) or frequency division duplex (FDD). In addition, the duplex modemay be different between the primary component carrier and one or moresecondary component carriers.

After a secondary component carrier has been configured, the configuredsecondary component carrier can generally only be used for periodicmeasurements. In order for the configured secondary component carrier tobe used for data transmissions, the configured secondary componentcarrier should be activated. For example, the base station 120 maytransmit activation information to the user device 110. The activationinformation can include a list of configured secondary componentcarriers to be activated and/or a list of activated secondary componentcarriers to be deactivated. The user device 110 may receive theactivation information and may activate secondary component carriers,and/or deactivate configured secondary component carriers, asappropriate. In one or more implementations, an activated secondarycomponent carrier may also be deactivated implicitly after no data isscheduled on that carrier for a predefined period of time that may beset during configuration/activation.

The electronic device 130 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as a Bluetoothdevice, such as a Bluetooth headset, and the electronic device 140 isillustrated in FIG. 1 as a wireless access device, such as a Wi-Fiaccess point. Although the electronic devices 130, 140 are illustratedas Bluetooth and Wi-Fi devices, the electronic devices 130, 140 are notlimited to devices that communicate via Bluetooth and/or Wi-Ficommunications. In one or more implementations, the electronic device130 and/or the electronic device 140 may include cellular communicationcapabilities, e.g. the electronic devices 130, 140 may be LTE capabledevices. The electronic devices 130, 140 may be any device that iscapable of communicating with the user device 110 and/or the basestation 120 using any wireless communication specification or standard.

In one or more implementations, the user device 110 may communicate withthe base station 120 according to a first communications specificationor standard (e.g., a first type of wireless communication that uses afirst frequency band), the user device 110 communicates with theelectronic device 130 according to a second communications specificationor standard (e.g., a second type of wireless communication that uses asecond frequency band), and the user device 110 communicates with theelectronic device 140 according to a third communications specificationor standard (e.g., a third type of wireless communication that uses athird frequency band). The user device 110 may include one or moreradios for enabling communication over the different communicationspecifications. For example, the user device 110 may include a cellularradio module that enables cellular communications with the base station120, a Bluetooth radio module that enables Bluetooth communications withthe electronic device 130, and a Wi-Fi radio module that enables Wi-Ficommunications with the electronic device 140. In one or moreimplementations, one or more of the modules may be combined into asingle module, e.g. the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radio modules may becombined into a Bluetooth/Wi-Fi radio module.

In one or more implementations, concurrent communications by the userdevice 110 in accordance with the first, second and/or thirdcommunications specifications may interfere with each other, such aswhen the concurrent communications are over neighboring frequencies. Theinterference between the concurrent communications may lead to packetloss and/or to the user device 110 becoming disassociated with the basestation 120, the electronic device 130, and/or the electronic device140. For example, the user device 110 may communicate with the basestation 120 using LTE frequency band 40, e.g. 2390 megahertz (MHz),while communicating with the electronic device 140 over Wi-Fi channel 1,e.g. 2412 Mhz. Since the user device 110 is concurrently communicatingwith the base station 120 and the electronic device 130 over neighboringfrequencies, the communications may interfere with one another. Anexample frequency allocation is discussed further below with respect toFIG. 5.

In operation, if the user device 110 and the base station 120 supportcarrier aggregation, and the user device 110 or the base station 120determines that the primary component carrier is experiencing, and/or iscausing, interference, at least a portion of the data or controltransmissions on the primary component carrier can be moved to asecondary component carrier in order to mitigate the interference beingexperienced, and/or caused, by the primary component carrier. In one ormore implementations, at least a portion of the data transmissions andat least a portion of the control transmissions on the primary componentcarrier may be moved to a secondary component carrier. Example processesfor mitigating interference through carrier aggregation are discussedfurther below with respect to FIGS. 2-4.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process 200 of a userdevice 110 in a system for interference mitigation through carrieraggregation in accordance with one or more implementations. Forexplanatory purposes, example process 200 is described herein withreference to the user device 110 of the example network environment 100of FIG. 1; however, example process 200 is not limited to the userdevice 110 of the example network environment 100 of FIG. 1, and theexample process 200 may be performed by one or more components of theuser device 110, such as a host processor and/or a cellular radiomodule. Further for explanatory purposes, the blocks of example process200 are described herein as occurring in serial, or linearly. However,multiple blocks of example process 200 may occur in parallel. Inaddition, the blocks of example process 200 need not be performed in theorder shown and/or one or more of the blocks of example process 200 neednot be performed.

The user device 110, or a component thereof such as a cellular radiomodule, receives data and control transmissions over a primary componentcarrier (202). The user device 110 determines whether the primarycomponent carrier is experiencing, and/or is causing, interference(204). For example, the user device 110 may determine one or more signalquality metrics for the transmissions received over the primarycomponent carrier (202), and the user device 110 may determine, based onthe signal quality metrics, whether the primary component carrier isexperiencing interference. The signal quality metrics may include, e.g.,a received signal strength indication (RSSI), asignal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), a packet-delivery ratio(PDR), a bit-error rate (BER), or generally any metric that mayindicative of signal quality and/or of signal interference. In one ormore implementations, the user device 110 may receive an indication froma radio module that is collocated with the cellular radio module, suchas a Bluetooth radio module, a Wi-Fi radio module, or generally anycollocated radio module, that indicates that the primary componentcarrier is causing interference with respect to the communications ofthe collocated radio.

If the user device 110 determines that the primary component carrier isnot experiencing, and/or causing, interference (204), the user device110 continues to receive data and control transmissions over the primarycomponent carrier (202). If the user device 110 determines that theprimary component carrier is experiencing, and/or causing, interference(204), the user device 110 determines whether there are any configuredsecondary carriers that are experiencing, and/or causing lessinterference than the primary component carrier (206). If the userdevice 110 determines that there is a configured secondary carrier thatis experiencing, and/or causing, less interference than the primarycomponent carrier (206), the user device 110 transmits a message to thebase station 120 that indicates that the primary component carrier isexperiencing, and/or is causing, interference (208). The message mayinclude a list of one or more configured secondary component carriersthat are experiencing, and/or causing, less interference than theprimary component carrier.

In one or more implementations, the message may include information thatmay assist the base station 120 with determining an appropriatesecondary component carrier to utilize for at least a portion of thedata or control transmissions of the primary component carrier. Theinformation may include, e.g., one or more measurements that indicatethe interference on the primary component carrier, an indication of thetechnology that is causing the interference, e.g. the Bluetooth radiomodule, the frequency from which the interference originates, aninterference pattern in time, and/or generally any information that mayassist the base station 120 with determining an appropriate secondarycomponent carrier to select. In one or more implementations where theinterference is due to a collocated radio, such as a Wi-Fi radio, theWi-Fi radio module may transmit a message to the cellular radio modulethat indicates the channel that the Wi-Fi radio module is using fortransmissions. The cellular radio module may have access to apre-calculated table of interference between channels of the Wi-Fi andcellular radio modules. The cellular radio module may utilize thechannel indicated by the Wi-Fi radio module, and the table, to determineother frequencies on which there will be less interference, e.g. bychecking against a threshold. The message from the user device 110 maylist one or more secondary component carriers that utilize thedetermined frequencies on which there will be less interference.

In one or more implementations, instead of transmitting a message toindicate the interference with respect to the primary component carrier,the base station 120 may utilize a channel quality indicator (CQI) thatis transmitted by the user device 110 to determine the interference withrespect to the primary component carrier. Alternatively, or in addition,the user device 110 may transmit a measurement report to the basestation 120 to indicate a bad channel on the primary component carrier.

The base station 120 receives the message from the user device 110 andselects a secondary component carrier, e.g. a secondary componentcarrier that utilizes a frequency that is sufficiently disparate fromthe interfering band. In one or more implementations, the base stationmay select the secondary component carrier based at least in part on themessage received from the user device 110, or the base station 120 mayselect the secondary component carrier irrespective of the messagereceived from the user device 110. If the selected secondary componentcarrier is not activated (210), the user device 110 receives activationinformation for the secondary component carrier (216) and the userdevice 110 activates the secondary component carrier. In one or moreimplementations, if there is a maximum number of secondary componentcarriers that can be configured for the user device 110, such as fivesecondary component carriers, and none of the existing secondarycomponent carriers can sufficiently avoid the interference, one of thesecondary component carriers may be de-configured and a new secondarycomponent carrier may be added that can substantially avoid theinterference.

If the user device 110 determines that there are no configured secondarycarriers that are experiencing, and/or causing, less interference thanthe primary component carrier (206), the user device 110 transmits amessage to the base station 120 that indicates that the primarycomponent carrier is experiencing, and/or causing, interference (212).The message may also include a list of one or more cells with lessinterference, e.g. for which a secondary component carrier may beconfigured. In one or more implementations, the message may includeinformation that may assist the base station 120 with determining anappropriate cell for configuring a secondary component carrier. Theinformation may include, e.g., one or more measurements that indicatethe interference on the primary component carrier, an indication of thetechnology that is causing the interference, e.g. the Bluetooth radiomodule, the frequency from which the interference originates, aninterference pattern in time, one or more measurements for the cellslisted in the message, and/or generally any information that may assistthe base station 120 with determining an appropriate cell forconfiguring and activating a secondary component carrier.

The base station 120 configures a secondary component carrier, and theuser device 110 receives configuration information for the secondarycomponent carrier (214), and subsequently configures the secondarycomponent carrier. The base station 120 then activates the secondarycomponent carrier, and the user device 110 receives activationinformation for the secondary component carrier (216), and activates thesecondary component carrier.

Once a configured and activated secondary component carrier has beendetermined, the user device 110 begins to receive at least a portion ofthe data or control transmissions over the secondary component carrier,while maintaining connectivity over the primary component carrier (218).For example, the base station 120 may begin to allocate resources on thesecondary component carrier for the at least a portion of the data orcontrol transmissions of the primary component carrier. In one or moreimplementations, one or more control information items, such asbroadcast system information, cross carrier scheduling in the downlink,and feedback information for uplink data, may be coded conservativelyenough to tolerate the interference on the primary component carrier,e.g. the control information may still be decoded in the presence of theinterference. Accordingly, if one or more control information items canbe properly decoded in the presence of the interference, the one or morecontrol information items may continue to be transmitted over theprimary component carrier, e.g. the one or more control informationitems may not be moved to the secondary component carrier.

In one or more implementations, the user device 110 may maintainconnectivity with the base station 120 over the primary componentcarrier by continuing to transmit and/or receive at least a portion ofthe data or control transmissions over the primary component carrier,and/or by maintaining the RRC connection over the primary componentcarrier. Alternatively, or in addition, the user device 110 may maintainconnectivity with the base station 120 over the primary componentcarrier by leaving the primary component carrier activated withouttransmitting or receiving any data transmissions over the primarycomponent carrier, or the user device 110 may deactivate the primarycomponent carrier but leave the primary component carrier configured.Accordingly, the at least a portion of the control and datatransmissions may be quickly moved from the secondary component carrierback to the primary component carrier when the interference ceases ordiminishes.

The user device 110 determines whether the interference that was beingexperienced, and/or caused, by the primary component carrier hasdiminished (220). For example, the user device 110 may measure one ormore signal metrics in relation to the primary component carrier todetermine that the interference diminished, and/or the user device 110may receive an indication from a collocated radio that the interferencehas diminished. If the user device 110 determines that the interferencehas not diminished (220), the user device 110 continues to receive atleast a portion of the data or control transmissions over the secondarycomponent carrier, while maintaining connectivity over the primarycomponent carrier (218).

If the user device 110 determines that the interference has diminished(220), the user device 110 transmits a message to the base station 120that indicates that the interference has diminished (222). In one ormore implementations, the message may indicate that the interference hasceased or diminished, the message may indicate a time when the userdevice 110 estimates that the interference will cease or diminish,and/or the message may include any other information that may assist thebase station 120 in determining when to return the at least the portionof the data and control transmissions to the primary component carrier.

The base station 120 then moves the at least the portion of the data andcontrol transmissions from the secondary component carrier back to theprimary component carrier, and the user device 110 begins to receive thedata and control transmissions on the primary component carrier (224).For example, the base station 120 may begin to allocate resources backover the primary component carrier for the at least a portion of thedata or control transmissions that were being transmitted over thesecondary component carrier. In one or more implementations, the userdevice 110 may receive information from the base station 120 indicatingthat the secondary component carrier is being deactivated, and the userdevice 110 may deactivate the secondary component carrier.

For explanatory purposes, the example process 200 is discussed herein inthe example context of moving at least a portion of data and controltransmissions from a primary component carrier to a secondary componentcarrier when the primary component carrier is experiencing, and/orcausing, interference. However, the example process 200 may also be usedto move at least a portion of data and/or control transmissions from asecondary component carrier that is experiencing interference to theprimary component carrier or another secondary component carrier.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process 300 of a basestation 120 in a system for interference mitigation through carrieraggregation in accordance with one or more implementations. Forexplanatory purposes, example process 300 is described herein withreference to the base station 120 of the example network environment 100of FIG. 1; however, example process 300 is not limited to the basestation 120 of the example network environment 100 of FIG. 1, and theexample process 300 may be performed by one or more components of thebase station 120, such as a host processor and/or a radio module.Further for explanatory purposes, the blocks of example process 300 aredescribed herein as occurring in serial, or linearly. However, multipleblocks of example process 300 may occur in parallel. In addition, theblocks of example process 300 need not be performed in the order shownand/or one or more of the blocks of example process 300 need not beperformed.

The base station 120 transmits data and control transmissions to theuser device 110 over a primary component carrier (302). The base station120 determines whether the primary component carrier is experiencing,and/or causing, interference (304). For example, the base station 120may receive a message from the user device 110 that indicates that theprimary component carrier is experiencing, and/or causing, interference.In one or more implementations, the base station 120 may be, or may be apart of, a femtocell, and the uplink data transmissions received by thebase station 120 from the user device 110 may experience interferencefrom a proximal Wi-Fi access point, such as the electronic device 140.The base station 120 may identify the interference being caused by thefemtocell by determining one or more signal quality metrics with respectto the received data transmissions.

If the base station 120 does not determine that the primary componentcarrier is experiencing, and/or causing, interference, the base station120 continues to transmit data and control transmissions over theprimary component carrier. If the base station 120 determines that theprimary component carrier is experiencing, and/or causing, interference(304), the base station identifies an appropriate secondary componentcarrier to which at least a portion of the data or control transmissionscan be moved (306). In one or more implementations, the base station 120may determine an uplink and/or downlink secondary component carrier,depending upon whether the determined interference corresponds to theuplink and/or downlink.

If the base station 120 determines that there are no suitable configuredsecondary component carriers (308), the base station 120 configures asecondary component carrier (310). If the base station configured asecondary component carrier, and/or determines that there are nosuitable activated secondary component carriers (312), the base station120 activates the secondary component carrier (314). The base station120 then transmits at least a portion of the data or controltransmissions to the user device 110 over the secondary componentcarrier, while maintaining connectivity with the user device 110 overthe primary component carrier (316).

The base station 120 determines whether the interference has diminished(318). For example, the base station 120 may receive an indication fromthe user device 110 that the interference has diminished, or the basestation 120 may determine that the interference has diminished throughone or more measured signal quality metrics for the primary componentcarrier. If the base station 120 determines that the interference hasdiminished (318), the base station moves the at least the portion of thedata and control transmissions from the secondary component carrier backto the primary component carrier (320). If the secondary componentcarrier is no longer needed for other transmissions, the base station120 deactivates the secondary component carrier (322).

For explanatory purposes, the example process 300 is discussed herein inthe example context of moving at least a portion of data and controltransmissions from a primary component carrier to a secondary componentcarrier when the primary component carrier is experiencing, and/orcausing, interference. However, the example process 300 may also be usedto move at least a portion of data and/or control transmissions from asecondary component carrier that is experiencing interference to theprimary component carrier or another secondary component carrier.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example flow diagram of an example process 400 fora system for interference mitigation through carrier aggregation inaccordance with one or more implementations. For explanatory purposes,example process 400 is described herein with reference to the userdevice 110 and base station 120 of the example network environment 100of FIG. 1; however, example process 400 is not limited to the examplenetwork environment 100 of FIG. 1, and the example process 400 may beperformed by one or more components of the user device 110 and/or basestation 120, such as host processors, radio modules, etc. Further forexplanatory purposes, the blocks of example process 400 are describedherein as occurring in serial, or linearly. However, multiple blocks ofexample process 400 may occur in parallel. In addition, the blocks ofexample process 400 need not be performed in the order shown and/or oneor more of the blocks of example process 400 need not be performed.

The user device 110 determines interference information for the primarycomponent carrier (410), e.g. by receiving an indication from acollocated radio or by determining one or more signal quality metricsfor the primary component carrier. The user device 110 transmits amessage to the base station 120 that indicates the interference beingexperienced by, and/or caused by, the primary component carrier (420).The message may include, e.g., measurements indicating a bad channel onthe primary component carrier, an indication of the technology that iscausing the interference, a frequency from which the interferenceoriginates, an interference pattern, a list of secondary componentcarriers found to have less interference (if any), a list of cells foundto have less interference, and/or measurement information for the cells.

The base station 120 activates one or more new secondary componentcarriers and transmits information regarding the same to the user device110 (430). The user device 110 and the base station 120 transmit and/orreceive at least a portion of the data and control transmissions on thesecondary component carrier (440). The user device 110 determines thatthe interference has diminished or ceased (450). For example, acollocated radio may indicate that the interference has ceased ordiminished, or the user device 110 may determine that the interferencehas ceased or diminished by determining signal quality metrics for theprimary component carrier. The user device 110 transmits a message tothe base station 120 that indicates that the interference has ceased ordiminished (460). In one or more implementations, the message mayfurther include a time when the user device 110 estimates that theinterference will cease or diminish. The base station 120 deactivatesthe one or more secondary component carriers and transmits informationindicating the same to the user device 110 (470).

For explanatory purposes, the example process 400 is discussed herein inthe example context of moving at least a portion of data and controltransmissions from a primary component carrier to a secondary componentcarrier when the primary component carrier is experiencing, and/orcausing, interference. However, the example process 400 may also be usedto move at least a portion of data and/or control transmissions from asecondary component carrier that is experiencing interference to theprimary component carrier or another secondary component carrier.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example frequency allocation 500 for a user device110 in a system for interference mitigation through carrier aggregationin accordance with one or more implementations. Not all of the depictedcomponents may be required, however, and one or more implementations mayinclude additional components not shown in the figure. Variations in thearrangement and type of the components may be made without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth herein. Additionalcomponents, different components, or fewer components may be provided.

The example frequency allocation 500 for the user device 110 includes afrequency allocated to a primary component carrier 510, a frequencyallocated to a secondary component carrier 520, and a frequencyallocated to a Wi-Fi channel 530. As shown in FIG. 5, the frequencyallocated to the primary component carrier 510, e.g. 2390 MHz, neighborsthe frequency allocated to the Wi-Fi channel 530, e.g. 2412 MHz. Thus,if the user device 110 is communicating with the electronic device 140over the Wi-Fi channel 530, while concurrently communicating with thebase station 120 over the primary component carrier 510, thetransmissions over the Wi-Fi channel 530 and the primary componentcarrier 510 may interfere with each other. However, as shown in FIG. 5,the frequency of the secondary component carrier 520 does not neighborthe Wi-Fi channel 530. Thus, the interference between the primarycomponent carrier 510 and the Wi-Fi channel 530 can be mitigated bymoving at least a portion of the data or control transmissions from theprimary component carrier 510 to the secondary component carrier 520, asdiscussed further above with respect to FIGS. 2-4.

FIG. 6 conceptually illustrates an electronic system 600 with which anyimplementations of the subject technology may be implemented. Theelectronic system 600 may be, or may be a part of, the user device 110,the base station 120, the electronic devices 130, 140, and/or generallyany electronic device that transmits wireless signals. The electronicsystem 600 includes system memory 602, one or more host processors 604,a primary radio module 608, and a secondary radio module 610, or subsetsand variations thereof. For example, the electronic system 600 mayinclude additional radio modules. Alternatively, or in addition, theuser device 110, the base station 120, or any of the electronic devices130, 140 may include one or more of the components of the electronicsystem 600.

The bus 606 collectively represents all system, peripheral, and chipsetbuses that communicatively connect the numerous internal devices of theelectronic system 600. Although the bus 606 is illustrated as a singleline, the bus 606 may include multiple discrete connections, such asdirect connections, between one or more of the system memory 602, theone or more host processors 604, the primary radio module 608, and/orthe secondary radio module 610. In one or more implementations, the bus606 communicatively connects the one or more host processors 604 withthe system memory 602. The one or more host processors 604 can be asingle processor or a multi-core processor in different implementations.Alternatively, or in addition, the one or more host processors 604 maybe implemented in logic. The system memory 602 may be a read-and-writememory device. The system memory 602 may be, and/or may include, avolatile read-and-write memory, such as random access memory, or anon-volatile read-and-write memory, such as a permanent storage device.The system memory 602 stores any of the instructions and/or data thatthe one or more host processors 604 needs at runtime. In one or moreimplementations, the processes of the subject disclosure are stored inthe system memory 602. From these various memory units, the one or morehost processors 604 retrieves instructions to execute and data toprocess in order to execute the processes of one or moreimplementations.

The primary radio module 608 and the secondary radio module 610 mayenable the electronic system 600 to communicate wirelessly using one ormore wireless standards or specifications. For example, the primaryradio module 608 may be a cellular radio module, such as an LTE radiomodule, and may enable the electronic system 600 to communicate with,e.g., the user device 110 and/or the base station 120 via cellularcommunications. The secondary radio module 610 may be a radio module forcommunicating using another communication specification, such asBluetooth and/or Wi-Fi. For example, the secondary radio module 610 mayenable the electronic system 600 to communicate with, e.g. theelectronic device 130 over Bluetooth and/or the electronic device 140over Wi-Fi. In one or more implementations, the bus 606 may include adirect connection between the primary radio module 608 and the secondaryradio module 610. For example the radio modules 608, 610 may transmitmessages to one another over the direct connection to indicate when theradio modules 608, 610 are interfering with each other.

Many of the above-described features and applications may be implementedas software processes that are specified as a set of instructionsrecorded on a computer readable storage medium (alternatively referredto as computer-readable media, machine-readable media, ormachine-readable storage media). When these instructions are executed byone or more processing unit(s) (e.g., one or more processors, cores ofprocessors, or other processing units), they cause the processingunit(s) to perform the actions indicated in the instructions. Examplesof computer readable media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM,read-only compact discs (CD-ROM), recordable compact discs (CD-R),rewritable compact discs (CD-RW), read-only digital versatile discs(e.g., DVD-ROM, dual-layer DVD-ROM), a variety of recordable/rewritableDVDs (e.g., DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, etc.), flash memory (e.g., SDcards, mini-SD cards, micro-SD cards, etc.), magnetic and/or solid statehard drives, ultra density optical discs, any other optical or magneticmedia, and floppy disks. In one or more implementations, the computerreadable media does not include carrier waves and electronic signalspassing wirelessly or over wired connections, or any other ephemeralsignals. For example, the computer readable media may be entirelyrestricted to tangible, physical objects that store information in aform that is readable by a computer. In one or more implementations, thecomputer readable media is non-transitory computer readable media,computer readable storage media, or non-transitory computer readablestorage media.

In one or more implementations, a computer program product (also knownas a program, software, software application, script, or code) can bewritten in any form of programming language, including compiled orinterpreted languages, declarative or procedural languages, and it canbe deployed in any form, including as a stand alone program or as amodule, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for use ina computing environment. A computer program may, but need not,correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in aportion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or morescripts stored in a markup language document), in a single filededicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files(e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portionsof code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on onecomputer or on multiple computers that are located at one site ordistributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communicationnetwork.

While the above discussion primarily refers to microprocessor ormulti-core processors that execute software, one or more implementationsare performed by one or more integrated circuits, such as applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs). In one or more implementations, such integrated circuitsexecute instructions that are stored on the circuit itself.

Those of skill in the art would appreciate that the various illustrativeblocks, modules, elements, components, methods, and algorithms describedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, orcombinations of both. To illustrate this interchangeability of hardwareand software, various illustrative blocks, modules, elements,components, methods, and algorithms have been described above generallyin terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality isimplemented as hardware or software depends upon the particularapplication and design constraints imposed on the overall system.Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varyingways for each particular application. Various components and blocks maybe arranged differently (e.g., arranged in a different order, orpartitioned in a different way) all without departing from the scope ofthe subject technology.

It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of blocks in theprocesses disclosed is an illustration of example approaches. Based upondesign preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of blocks in the processes may be rearranged, or that allillustrated blocks be performed. Any of the blocks may be performedsimultaneously. In one or more implementations, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation ofvarious system components in the embodiments described above should notbe understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

As used in this specification and any claims of this application, theterms “base station”, “receiver”, “computer”, “server”, “processor”, and“memory” all refer to electronic or other technological devices. Theseterms exclude people or groups of people. For the purposes of thespecification, the terms “display” or “displaying” means displaying onan electronic device.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series ofitems, with the term “and” or “or” to separate any of the items,modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list (i.e.,each item). The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection ofat least one of each item listed; rather, the phrase allows a meaningthat includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least oneof any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of theitems. By way of example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or“at least one of A, B, or C” each refer to only A, only B, or only C;any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, andC.

The predicate words “configured to”, “operable to”, and “programmed to”do not imply any particular tangible or intangible modification of asubject, but, rather, are intended to be used interchangeably. In one ormore implementations, a processor configured to monitor and control anoperation or a component may also mean the processor being programmed tomonitor and control the operation or the processor being operable tomonitor and control the operation. Likewise, a processor configured toexecute code can be construed as a processor programmed to execute codeor operable to execute code.

A phrase such as “an aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations.An aspect may provide one or more examples of the disclosure. A phrasesuch as an “aspect” may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa. Aphrase such as an “embodiment” does not imply that such embodiment isessential to the subject technology or that such embodiment applies toall configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating toan embodiment may apply to all embodiments, or one or more embodiments.An embodiment may provide one or more examples of the disclosure. Aphrase such an “embodiment” may refer to one or more embodiments andvice versa. A phrase such as a “configuration” does not imply that suchconfiguration is essential to the subject technology or that suchconfiguration applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Adisclosure relating to a configuration may apply to all configurations,or one or more configurations. A configuration may provide one or moreexamples of the disclosure. A phrase such as a “configuration” may referto one or more configurations and vice versa.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” or as an “example” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Furthermore, to theextent that the term “include,” “have,” or the like is used in thedescription or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted whenemployed as a transitional word in a claim.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in thecase of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “stepfor.”

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Pronouns in themasculine (e.g., his) include the feminine and neuter gender (e.g., herand its) and vice versa. Headings and subheadings, if any, are used forconvenience only and do not limit the subject disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: transmitting data andcontrol information over a primary component carrier to a wirelessdevice; determining that interference exists with respect to the primarycomponent carrier; and transmitting at least a portion of the data orcontrol information to the wireless device over a secondary componentcarrier until the interference is determined to be diminished withrespect to the primary component carrier, wherein transmitting the atleast the portion of the data or control information to the wirelessdevice over the secondary component carrier until the interference isdetermined to be diminished with respect to the primary componentcarrier further comprises temporarily transmitting the at least theportion of the data or control information to the wireless device overthe secondary component carrier until the interference is determined tobe diminished with respect to the primary component carrier.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the data and thecontrol information over the primary component carrier in response todetermining that the interference has diminished with respect to theprimary component carrier.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:deactivating the secondary component carrier in response to determiningthat the interference with respect to the primary component carrier hasdiminished.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that theinterference exists with respect to the primary component carrierfurther comprises receiving a first message that indicates thatinterference exists with respect to the primary component carrier. 5.The method of claim 4, further comprising: activating the secondarycomponent carrier in response to receiving the first message.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, further comprising: configuring the secondarycomponent carrier prior to activating the secondary component carrier.7. The method of claim 4, wherein the first message that indicates thatthe interference exists with respect to the primary component carrierfurther comprises at least one of first measurement informationindicating the interference on the primary component carrier, technologyinformation identifying a technology which is causing or receiving theinterference, an originating frequency from which the interferenceoriginates, a frequency to which the interference is caused, aninterference pattern, a list of new cells having less interference thanthe primary component carrier, or second measurement information for thenew cells.
 8. The method of claim 4, further comprising: selecting thesecondary component carrier based at least in part on the first message.9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that theinterference with respect to the primary component carrier hasdiminished based at least in part on receipt of a second message thatindicates that the interference with respect to the primary componentcarrier has diminished.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:maintaining connectivity with the wireless device over the primarycomponent carrier while the at least the portion of the data or controlinformation is transmitted to the wireless device over the secondarycomponent carrier.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the maintainingthe connectivity with the wireless device over the primary componentcarrier further comprises: maintaining a physical control channel overthe primary component carrier with the wireless device.
 12. The methodof claim 1, wherein the primary component carrier and the secondarycomponent carrier comprise contiguous frequency bands or non-contiguousfrequency bands.
 13. A computer program product comprising instructionsstored in a non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium,the instructions comprising: instructions to receive data transmissionsand control transmissions over a primary component carrier from a basestation; instructions to transmit a first message to the base stationthat indicates that the primary component carrier is experiencing, orcausing, interference; instructions to receive at least a portion of thedata transmissions or at least a portion of the control transmissionsover a secondary component carrier from the base station until theinterference experienced, or caused, by the primary component carrierdiminishes; and instructions to maintain connectivity with the basestation over the primary component carrier while the at least theportion of the data or control information is received from the basestation over the secondary component carrier.
 14. The computer programproduct of claim 13, wherein the instructions to maintain connectivitywith the base station over the primary component carrier while the atleast the portion of the data or control information is received fromthe base station over the secondary component carrier further comprise:instructions to maintain a radio resource control connection with thebase station over the primary component carrier while receiving the atleast the portion of the data transmissions or the at least the portionof the control transmissions over the secondary component carrier. 15.The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the instructionsfurther comprises: instructions to determine that the interference hasdiminished; instructions to transmit, to the base station, a secondmessage that indicates that the interference has diminished; andinstructions to receive the data transmissions and the controltransmissions from the base station over the primary component carrier.16. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the instructionsto determine that the primary component carrier is experiencing, orcausing, interference further comprises: instructions to receiveinformation from a collocated radio that indicates that the primarycomponent carrier is causing interference with respect to receptions ofthe collocated radio.
 17. The computer program product of claim 13,wherein the instructions further comprise: instructions to determinethat the secondary component carrier is experiencing less interferencethan the primary component carrier; and instructions to transmit anidentifier of the secondary component carrier with the first message tothe base station.
 18. A device, comprising: at least one processorcircuit configured to: provide data transmissions and controltransmissions to a wireless device over a primary component carrier;switch at least a portion of the data transmissions or at least aportion of the control transmissions to a secondary component carrier inresponse to determining that interference exists with respect to theprimary component carrier; maintain connectivity with the wirelessdevice over the primary component carrier while the at least the portionof the data transmissions or the at least the portion of the controltransmissions are switched to the secondary component carrier; andswitch the at least the portion of the data transmissions or the atleast the portion of the control transmissions to the primary componentcarrier in response to determining that the interference with respect tothe primary component carrier has diminished.
 19. The device of claim18, wherein the at least one processor circuit is further configured to:deactivate the secondary component carrier upon switching the at leastthe portion of the data transmissions or the at least the portion of thecontrol transmissions to the primary component carrier.